2. Investigation about Tenerife Disaster
and TWA Flight 847 Incident
AMIDEE AZIZAN
KPMC102217
In this PRESENTATION I will describe about air crash fatal accident
between 2 aircraft in two different situations that is runway incursion(aircraft
collision) and aircraft hijacking. The issues are:
Fact, Chronology , Comparison and Assumption of Fatal.

3. Crash of Century
TENERIFE DISASTER FACT
Destination
: Las Palmas Airport , Canary Island
Place of Accident : Tenerife Airport (Regional airport)
Date
: March 27th 1977
Aircraft
: Pan Am B747 and KLM B747
Fatalities
: 583
Survivors
: 61
Incident type
: Runway Incursion-Aircraft collision
during take off
Reason divert
: Bomb threat at Las Palmas

4. Chronology
• 12 00 pm  Pan Am on cruising level 2 hours to
destination Las Palmas
 Pan Am received urgent message from
• 1230
Las Palmas ATC about Bomb Threat at
Las Palmas airport and instruct to
divert to Tenerife Airport
• 0138
 KLM already on ground

5. Tenerife is a small airport.Only have 1 airstrip.Its
Sunday and only 2 ATC staff on duty.Tarmac condition
already pack with a/c,getting bumper to bumper.Taxiway
block with aircraft.ATC have to clear aircraft out of gate as
soon as possible.
•
•
•
•
•
0215
0230
0456
0502
0506
 Pan Am touch down at Tenerife Airport
 Las Palmas airport reopen
 KLM request permission to taxiing to depart
 Pan Am taxiing behind KLM
 Pan Am saw KLM jumbo heading towards them
on same runway
• 0507  Pan Am trying to pull out of the runway as
soon as possible
• 0508  Both aircraft collide each other

6. ASSUMPTION OF
DISASTER ERROR






Human Error
Communication Failure
ATC
Airport Requirement
Weather Conditions
Aircraft Refuelling
Human Error
 Haste to take off because afraid closed to
minimum visibility to take-off (Fogging
situation)
 Not follow ATC clearance on take off & exit
 Take-off during Pan Am still taxiing
 Stress to catching departure slot to avoid
exceeding flight hour expenses
 Didn’t follow order to exit on C3 continue
manoeuvre to C4 therefore aircraft shouldn’t
be on the runway during event occur.
Communication Failure
 Pilot misunderstand instruction
 Lack of communication
 Bad English accent

7. Weather Condition
Fogging around airport
Visibility down from 500 meter to few Dozen
meter before event occur
ATC
Propose to use the main runway as a taxiway
instead
(Back track Method)- a/c take turn taxing to
runway-end ,turn around, and take off
continuously at the same runway, Next a/c exit
and hold before taking turn take-off

8. Airport Requirement
 Limited facility
 No radar to monitor surface movement
 Lack of equipment- runway center light out of
service
Aircraft Refueling
 Pilot judgment on carry extra fuel to fly to Las
Palmas plus back to Amsterdam to avoid queue.
 Refuelling block Pan Am to taxiing on behind
 Carry extra fuel take more time to refuel
 Causing delay
 Too heavy to lift
 Delay causing fogging getting thicker

9. SPECIAL THANKS TO
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
AIRCRAFT
INVESTIGATION
Q&A